Washington State Labor Council votes to oppose CarbonWA’s Initiative 732

The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, a federation of more than six hundred unions representing nearly half a million workers in Washington State, announced today that it has taken a position formally opposing CarbonWA’s I-732, which backers have advertised as a “revenue neutral” tax swap that would levy a tax on emissions of gases like carbon dioxide, while lowering sales and B&O taxes.

“We need a carbon and greenhouse gas reduction policy that caps and prices carbon, and then invests carbon revenues in leveraging the new clean energy economy in a manner that is equitable for working people and communities of color. No worker or community should be left behind in this economic transformation.”

“I-732 does not address these concerns and, in fact, locks us in to a single policy that will cost our state General Fund nearly $1 billion. At a time our state is struggling to fund basic services — including public schools, mental health facilities, and many other essential services — I-732 would send Washington in the wrong direction and create more damaging austerity choices.”

If the Legislature ignores it, as expected, it will be the first thing voters see when they open up their autumn ballots this coming October.

Analysis prepared by staff working for the Legislature and Department of Revenue suggests I-732 would not be revenue neutral, as CarbonWA claims, but would instead cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars. CarbonWA and its backers strongly dispute the analysis and say the state’s math is wrong.

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This entry was written by Andrew and posted on January 28th, 2016 at 2:40 PM.

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[…] Washington State Democratic Party went on record as opposed to CarbonWA’s I-732, joining the Washington State Labor Council and IAM’s District Lodge 751 in the no camp. I-732 is a complex tax swap proposal that would […]

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